George, Crombie to spearhead ethics debate in Scotland

Lord George, the former governor of the Bank of England, is also on the bill for the meeting of the Scottish business and financial community at the Signet Library on 14 March.

It is believed George will speak about ethical principles in business - and about his hopes for their application.

Crombie, currently preparing Standard Life for its flotation in the summer, is expected to talk about the SII's principles, how effective they are in business, and their application within the Edinburgh life assurer's culture in particular.

One Standard source said: "There have been fundamental changes in the financial services market, such as the demise of Equitable Life, the length of the bear [stock] market, and the gathering pace of mis-selling issues over things such as endowments and personal pensions.

"There has also been a lack of confidence in the industry from the regulator, consumer groups and directly from the consumer. There are plenty of issues to address at the meeting."

It is thought Crombie may also mention other controversies for the financial services industry such as the split-caps debacle and precipice bonds.

Scott Dobbie, the Scottish chairman of the Securities & Investment Institute, welcomed their involvement, saying: "Both Lord George and Sandy Crombie share a deep commitment to integrity and ethics in business life and we are very pleased to sponsor this meeting in Edinburgh with the David Hume Institute."

A Standard Life spokesman said: "It is Sandy Crombie's steadfast belief that the principles of trust and integrity have to be central to any business and to its dealings at all levels, internally and externally. He is very happy to be speaking at this meeting."

Lord George's involvement is understood to stem from his recent position as Master of the Guild of International Bankers, which formulated its own ethical code and subsequently liaised with the Securities & Investment Institute.